Photo By Spc. Andrew Ingram | The charred remains of the apartment building where three Fort Carson Soldiers alerted...... read more read more
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During the early hours of Nov. 7 three Soldiers of the Fort Carson Office of the Staff Judge Advocate were returning to post on Highway 115 when they noticed a glow from nearby apartment complex.
The driver, Staff Sgt. Larry Sanders, noncommissioned officer in charge of criminal law, said as they approached he saw that one of the upper apartments had caught fire.
"First thing I did was call 911, and they put me on hold," said Sanders, a Brent, Ala., native assigned to Company A, Division Special Troops Battalion, 4th Infantry Division. "I was yelling, 'There's a fire, there's a fire!' and they just said, 'Hold please.'"
As Sanders waited for the proper authorities, Staff Sgt. Angel Sims, court reporter, Company A, DSTB, 4th Inf. Div., contacted OnStar and was able to immediately report the fire.
Before Sanders could bring the car to a complete halt across the street from the flaming apartment building, Sims and Spc. Justin Janda, a paralegal assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 759th Military Police Battalion, were already out of the vehicle and sprinting toward the fire.
Sims explained that to reach the apartment complex she had to climb a slat fence, in the process losing her high-heeled shoes.
Sanders noted that as they approached the building they didn't hear any fire alarms and the buildings occupants seemed oblivious to the danger.
The Soldiers began to yell, attempting alert the residents, but when it became clear that the occupants couldn't hear them, they entered the flaming building.
Janda and Sanders took the upstairs apartments, while Sims banged on the downstairs doors to alert the sleeping residents of the danger.
Sanders said the Soldiers were able to get everyone out of the building in a matter of minutes, well before the fire department arrived on the scene.
Shortly after clearing the danger area Sims fell to the ground with a sharp pain in her right ankle and foot.
"I don't know how I hurt it," said Sims a native of Forrest City, Ark. "I think it must have been the adrenaline that kept me from feeling it. But I'm glad I didn't notice until after I got out of there. I guess that's what I get for running into a fire barefooted."
Sims was taken to Evans Army Community Hospital where it was determined she had a broken foot.
Firefighters were able to contain the blaze before it destroyed the building or spread, and were able to rescue a dog that had been trapped inside, but the quick thinking and bravery of these three first responders probably saved the lives of more than a dozen people.
| Date Taken: | 11.07.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 11.18.2009 17:36 |
| Story ID: | 41742 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 250 |
| Downloads: | 183 |
This work, Fort Carson Soldiers become local heroes, by SPC Andrew Ingram, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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